Disclaimer: I really wish I owned Slayers, then I would be at the very least a millionaire…but I'm not, so I don't own Slayers.

A/N: This is my first Slayers fic, and first AU fic so please go easy on me! Perhaps it's a bit of a cliché plot, but we'll see by the end, right? Please enjoy!

--

Filia screamed for her squad to retreat, "Back, back! Come on all of you, get back! Fall back!"

With a flash of gold, all the golden dragons turned and began to make their flight back to the fortified castle, with the mazokou hot in pursuit.

Filia opened her mouth, blasted the pursuers with a golden beam, then joined her squad in retreating.

--

Tying up the bandage on her arm, she asked, "So…what happened?"

Val, her older brother, sighed, and ran his hand through his aqua hair, "We managed to push them back a bit, but other than that, it's more or less the same."

Filia clenched her fists, "It just drags on like this, our war with the mazokou. More people die everyday, and still everything stays the same."

Val nodded, eyes closed, "It's been so long that no one remembers what even started the war. But as you know, there's no way to end this war yet."

"I wish all those filthy mazokou would just die! That would solve everything!" Filia cried out angrily.

"Maybe…or maybe not," said Val shrugging.

"It would!" Filia stated defiantly, "Then there wouldn't be a war, and then we could actually have peace and do something besides wage war all the time!"

Val smirked, "And what would you have in mind to do if there was no war? Prance around sipping tea?"

Filia put her nose into her air, "If there was no war, I would become the best potter in the land!"

Val laughed, "Oh, that's rich, the princess of the dragons becoming a potter!"

"What, you think I can't do it?"

Val shook his head, "No, no, it's just…well, you know that as princess, you have to keep up appearances. Besides…this war is all we have known since we were born. It would probably be hard for all to adjust if the war simply ended."

Filia sighed, and stood up, "Don't I know it. It's time, isn't it?"

Val's mouth set into a grim line, "Yeah, it's time."

--

"Good work, Xellos," drawled a tan lady sprawled out on the stone throne, sipping a glass of wine.

The smiling purple haired mazokou bowed deeply, "I am honored, Zelas-sama."

Zelas flicked a strand of hair away from her face, "Don't act so modest Xellos, it doesn't suit you."

Xellos rose, still smiling, "As you wish Zelas-sama."

Zelas took a long sip of her wine, and then addressed Xellos again, "You have already sent spies then, to keep us informed?"

"Hai Zelas-sama, I have sent some underlings to observe the unveiling of the former, now deceased dragon king's final wish."

"I don't understand that old faurt," said Zelas examining her wine glass, "He died about a year ago, and then he tells his kids to open his will when his daughter comes of age. That guy is insane."

"That he was," said Xellos nodding.

Zelas rolled her eyes, "Xellos cut it out with the annoying act, you never completely agree with me, or I'll throw this glass at you, no matter the fact that this is good wine."

"Lord of Nightmare forbid that you should waste good wine!" exclaimed Xellos.

"That's more like it, so give me your opinion."

Xellos nodded and said, "The former dragon king was an extremely good general, but he didn't seem to completely focused on our war. He seemed to think that there was some way to end this war, besides just one of the sides killing the other off. And you must admit that he died quite mysteriously. The whole situation was just a bit…odd."

"Oh yes," said Zelas idly sipping the wine, "one day the old faurt is perfectly fine, actually managing to decimate one of our more special troops…which was it again?"

"The Stealth Corps," supplied Xellos.

"Yeah, those. He goes ahead and destroys those, and then one day he just turns up dead in his bed, and the Ancient Dragon brat goes ahead and inherits the throne. But that brat couldn't have killed the old faurt off, because the old faurt did adopt the brat."

"The dragons didn't react very well," noted Xellos, "they wanted a golden dragon on the throne, the way it's been for awhile."

Zelas shrugged, "The old faurt had a daughter, obviously, but she was too young back then to even take the throne in the first place. And now she is of age, but she seems perfectly content to let her brother rule. Of course, that could all change when his will is opened."

"One must wonder what he put in there that is so important that they put a seal on it…" Xellos mused.

Zelas sighed, and downed the rest of her drink, "Knowing that stupid old faurt, it won't be anything funny. Too bad…I still kind of daydream that he stuffed some nice ancient wine in there. It would have been so much fun to steal it…"

--

Saichoro bowed when Val and Filia entered, "Ah, you two have finally arrived. Come now, hime-sama, you must release the seal on your father's will…"

Val hung back as he watched Filia step up to the small wooden box carved with protective runes, kneel down, and put her hand on the lid. Her eyes flashed gold, and the box creaked open ominously. She waved her hand over the box to ensure there were no more spells, and then carefully handed the box to Val.

He carefully took the age worn paper from the box and read it out loud, "My dear children, if you are reading this, then it is evident that I am dead. However it also must mean that my deal with the Lord of Nightmares has been settled. You two must be wondering what I am speaking of, so I will state it as simply as I can, although it may be a shock…."

Kinpaku steadily walked into the dark temple of the Lord of Nightmares, and bowed when he reached the alter. "Great Lord of Nightmares, you who created the four worlds must know of our plight. The dragons and mazokou have been warring for a forgotten number of years, for no remembered reason. This war has taken so many lives…I have seen many of my friends fall, as well as my wife. I…don't want my children have to live through the bloodshed that has become our way of life. L-sama…please answer my prayer, and grant to us peace."

There was a long silence, but Kinpaku stood there stubbornly.

Suddenly a ghostly woman with long blond hair appeared, "And why should I bother with that? It is entertaining to watch all of you fight during your short lives…"

Kinpaku bowed even lower, "Great Golden Lord…it may be entertaining for you to watch us, but the same thing for so many years, must become boring…"

The Lord of Nightmares simply examined her hand, "So it may," she agreed, with a bored tone, "but there is simply not enough incentive for me to take the trouble to change anything."

"And what would be enough incentive for you to change this war?"

The Lord of Nightmares looked him in the eye, "…such a foolish dragon, to call upon me. But it has been so long since I have talked to anyone, so let me tell you this. The only way the dragons and mazokou may be at peace with each other is if the royal families were combined."

Kinpaku looked up, horrified, "Combined! By that, She Floats Like Gold Upon the Sea of Chaos, do mean…married?"

"Well that is the only way I know of."

"But such a union…would it ever work out? No sane dragon or mazokou would agree to it!"

"No. So it would have to be an arranged marriage. You have a daughter that is around the same age as Zelas' son…"

Kinpaku stared at his hands, "Is this the only way?"

"Yes."

Kinpaku paused, and then asked, "What would be your price, Lord of Dreams that Terrify, to enforce this marriage?"

The Lord of Nightmares smirked, "It will make a very interesting play, so I will keep the price low. The price would be your life."

Kinpaku closed his eyes, "How would I die?"

The Lord of Nightmares shrugged, "Peacefully I suppose. You will be sucked into the Sea of Chaos."

Kinpaku bowed his head, "Then I accept."

"…that is what happened that day, so Filia my dear; I must beg you to honor my last request. Marry Xellos Metallium, and end this war. I am sorry to force this upon you, my daughter, but it must be done. The Lord of Nightmares will keep her end of her deal, so…good luck."

There was silence in the great hall, before Saichoro coughed and said, "Ou-sama…please do not joke around, this is a serious matter. Please read what the will really says."

Val looked up, his face stricken, "That is what it says."

And it was at that instance the chaos began.

"What? Our princess? Given in marriage to the mazokou prince! No way in hell!"

"Damn right! Xellos Metallium of all people, he slaughtered half of our army! Our former king must have not been right in his mind to do such a thing!"

"The stinking mazokou might just devour hime-sama if they even got close to each other!"

During the screaming voices of protests, no one noticed Val or a small mazokou quickly walking away.

--

Zelas spit out her wine, "What!"

The small mazokou quickly bowed again, "It as I said, Zelas-Metallium-sama, the former golden dragon king made a deal with the Lord of Nightmares for peace, which requires Xellos-sama to be married to the dragon princess—"

Zelas threw her wineglass at him. He quickly ducked, as the glass shattered against the wall, dripping red wine, "I know what you said, you fool. Get away from my sight."

As the underling scuttled away, Xellos appeared. "My, my, such destruction Zelas-sama…what was it? Did he insult your deplorable taste in clothing?"

Zelas whirled upon him, "That old faurt made a deal with the Lord of Nightmares. You have to marry that golden dragon princess."

Xellos' perpetual smiled dropped, "What!"

"Precisely my reaction," said Zelas, conjuring up another glass, "and there's no way out of this mess. The deal with the Mother of All was sealed when she took that old faurt's life."

Xellos slumped down, "…well then. What's your plan Zelas-sama?"

"I don't have one," replied Zelas gulping down the wine, "no one tries to break something the Mother of All wants in place if they want to live."

"So…I'm getting married?"

"Well, think of it this way. At least your wife's going to be pretty," replied Zelas morosely, filling another glass with wine.

--

Val slammed his fist on the table, "What the hell is going on Gaav! Why the hell would L-sama make a deal for a wedding of all things!"

The red haired dark lord sighed, "How am I supposed to know? The Mother of All likes to be kept entertained, and who knows how much entertainment this is giving her."

Val tugged his aqua hair, "What the hell! I don't care about how much she likes to be kept entertained, I want my sister to be out of this deal!"

Gaav shook his head, "Better stop that talk, she could strike you where you stand…anyway, there's no way out of a deal with the Mother of All after she's extracted the price. Sorry Val, your sister is going to have to marry Xellos."

"…I hate this. What is this Xellos guy like anyway?"

Gaav laughed, "You mean besides the fact that he decimated half of your army?"

Val glared at him, "I mean it Gaav."

"Sometimes you just can't take a joke Val," said Gaav sighing, "alright. Xellos Metallium. He's got purple hair, a perpetually smiling face, and likes to say, 'Now that's a secret'. If you want personality, he acts pretty stupid and cheerful most of the time, but he really just likes to manipulate people."

Val groaned, and buried his face in his hands, "Just great, my sister has to marry a manipulative two-faced mazokou, and I can't do anything about it."

Gaav sighed and pulled out a bottle, "Want a drink?"

"Sure, why not?" asked Val, harshly letting out a bark of laughter, "Maybe something will make sense after it."

--

Filia sat staring at the wall stonily, ignoring the pleas coming from the other side of her door.

"Filia? Filia? Open up this damn door, or else I swear I'm going to fire ball—"

"Lina-san, don't do that! It'll make her feel worse! Filia-san, please open this door, we just want to talk—"

"We already tried pleading for her to open the door, and it's not working! Come on, just move a bit Amelia, and then I can blast the thing to—"

"No!"

Filia blocked her ears. …so this is why father wanted me to come of age before reading his last wish. Damn him. Damn him to hell. Damn him and L-sama to hell! Did they ever think about what I want? I don't want them to decide who I will marry, especially not some filthy mazokou!

…but I also want peace, and the Lord of Nightmares said that the only way there would ever be peace would be if the royal families were combined. And if this is the only way…then it would be selfish of me. It would be selfish of me to put what I want before everyone else. And that is what it means to be royalty. To put everyone's desires before your own.

She threw open the doors, where a red haired girl and a black haired stopped arguing.

"Good, you finally opened the door! Now Filia—"

Filia interrupted, "Announce to Saichoro that we will have to travel soon."

Lina raised an eyebrow, "You're running away? Filia, I don't think that's a good idea—"

"I'm not running away," said Filia, shaking her head, "We will also have to contact the mazokou."

Amelia's face showed concern, "Why?"

"Because we have a wedding to plan."

--

A/N: Alright, I made up the name of Filia's dad, since I couldn't find the name anywhere. Anyway…what did you think? Please review! And all flames will be bounced back.